Machine for washing minerals and ores



Oct. 2, 1951 Filed Aug. 18, 1947 A. RATCLIFFE ErAL 2,570,072

MACHINE FOR WASHING MINERALS AND ORES 3 Sheets-Sheet l Inventors I ALFRED RATCLIFFE I GEOFFREY WILLIAM TALBOT Attorneys 1951 A. RATCLIFFE ETAL 2,570,072

MACHINE FOR WASHING MINERALS AND ORES Filed Aug. 18, 1947 '3 Sheets-Sheet 2 a 2 v Q k a} c o v .00 53L":

. S Invenlors 1L ALFRED RATCLIFFE OFFREY WILLIAM mmor A Horneys BY M ay/ 4 4040 Oct. 1951 v A. RATCZLIFFE ETAL 2,570,072

MACH INE FOR WASHING MINERALS AND ORES Filed Aug. 18, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 z 8 g g 9 /O Io ALFRED RATCLIFFE GEOFFREY -WILL|AM TALBOT Patented Oct. 2, 1951 MACHINE FOR WASHING MINERALS AND ORES Alfred Ratclifle and Geoffrey w. Talbot, Buxton,

England,

assignors to Imperial Chemical Industries Limited, a corporation of Great Britain Application August 18, 1947, Serial No. 769,208 In Great Britain July 29, 1946 Section 1, Public Law 690, August 8, 1946 Patent expires July 29, 1966 This invention relates to a machine for washing minerals, ores and the like materials of the type in which a gyratory motion is imparted to the material at right angles to its general line of travel through the machine.

Machines of the said type are known comprising a receptacle (hereinafter referred to as a washing trough) for the material to be washed which is mainly supported on a rotating shaft which is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the washing trough. The said shaft is mounted on bearings fixed to solid foundations and is pro- .vided wit-h eccentric portions which are journaled in bearings attached to the frame of the washing trough, whereby a gyratory motion can be imparted to the washing trough substantially at right angles to its longitudinal axis. Usually two troughs are mounted side by side on aframework supported on the rotating shaft which passes through the framework between the troughs. When the material to be cleaned is damp, water or other liquid is sprayed on the material in the trough.

These machines although satisfactory in washing performance .are found to be subject to very heavy wear involving high maintenance costs.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved washing machine of the type hereinbefore defined, having a satisfactory performance but free from the disadvantage of heavy wear and maintenance costs.

According to the present invention in machines of the type described the washing trough or troughs is or are resiliently supported independently of the rotating shaft which imparts the gyratory motion to, the trough or troughs, the said shaft being supported by bearings attached to the trough or troughs.

The frame of the washing trough or troughs may. conveniently be suspended by ropes or rods attached through helical springs to a comparatively light rigid framework preferably in such a way that the springs are partly compressed by the weight of the trough or troughs when the machine is stationary. Alternatively the 2 Claims. (01. 134-420) z when the gyratory motion is obtained in a preferred manner hereinafter to be described.

The gyratory motion of the washing trough or troughs may be obtained by locating the bearings on eccentric journals on the rotating shaft. It is preferred however to locate the bearings on journals on the shaft which are concentric with the axis of rotation of the shaft and to produce the gyratory motion by offsetting the centre of gravity of the shaft from its axis of rotation.

This can be done by suitably shaping the shaft frame of the washing trough or troughs may rest on helical springs or other resilient mounting, such as rubber cylinders, which are mounted on a solid foundation.

The rotating shaft may be driven from any suitable source of power through a flexible coupling or rope drive or from an electric motor mounted on the frame of the trough or troughs or by mounting bob-weights or eccentric wheels upon it.

In the previously known construction'in which the rotating shaft supports the washing troughs and is itself supported in fixed bearings, it is essential for the bearings on the trough framework to be close to the fixed bearings to reduce whip in the shaft. This in turn necessitates placing the trough bearings at or near the ends of the troughs, which in the case of long troughs gives poor support for the central portion. By the construction of the present invention in which the troughs are independent of the rotating shaft for their support this disadvantage is avoided and by arranging the resilient supports some distance from the ends of the troughs the trough or trough structure has maximum stiii'ness and strength.

In the maintenance of washing plant, the entry of dust or dirty water into bearings is an important factor. As compared with-the known construction which employs four bearings none of which can be totally enclosed, the apparatus of the present invention employs only two bearings and of these, the one remote from the driven end of the shaft can easily be totally enclosed.

Further features of the present invention consist in providing a cylindrical housing in the framework of the troughs for the rotating shaft and in the provision of cylindrical troughs which are easy to construct and by virtue of their shape are very much stronger.

In the maintenance of washing plants it is found that the abrasive action of the stone causes the bottom of the trough to wear; viously known constructions the troughs have either to be cut out and replaced or be provided with renewable lining plates which are diflicult to keep in position due to the fixing bolts becoming loose. Cylindrical troughs can, on the other hand, be clamped in position and readily replaced or renewed.

A preferred form of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompany- In the preing drawings in which Figure 1 is a plan of the machine, Figure 2 is a side elevation partly in section under line A-A of Figure 1, and Figure 3 is an end elevation viewed from the discharge end of the machine. Reference numerals I indicate two cylindrical washing troughs provided at one end with discharge sills 2 and at the other end with hoppers 3 adapted to receive the material to be washed together with the desired amount of washing liquor. The troughs I are mounted in holes in the plates 4 the outside portions of which are split at 5 and clamped by bolts 6 so as to grip the troughs I. The plates 4 are suspended by wire ropes I which are attached at their up ends to anchor bolts 8 which rest on the upper surface of helical springs 9. The helical springs 9 rest on base plates Ill carried by channel members II of a rigid framework I! supported on solid foundations I3. The helical springs 9 are proportioned so that when the machine is stationary they are partly compressed by the load carried by the wire ropes I. A cylindrical tube I4 is rigidly mounted in the centre of the plates 4 and carries the outer races of roller bearings I5. 'The inner races of the roller bearings I5 are mounted on journals of a shaft It the said journals being concentric with theaxis of rotation of the shaft ii. The centre portion of the shaft I1 is eccentric with respect of the axis of rotation of the shaft so that the centre of gravity of the shaft is displaced from its axis of rotation. The shaft I6 is coupled through a flexible coupling II to an electric motor 8 which is mounted on the rigid framework I2. The lower portion of the troughs I are provided with perforations 20.

In operation when the shaft I6 is rotated by the electric motor I9 owing to the eccentricity of the central portion I! of the shaft and the resilient support of the troughs I provided by the helical springs 9, a gyratory motion is imparted to material fed into the hoppers 3 at 4 right angles to the line of travel of the material through the troughs l towards the discharge sills 2. v

We claim:

1. In an ore washing machine, a rigid supporting frame, a pair of washing vessels each of substantial length in one dimension and including an inlet and outlet, said vesels being fixed together with said dimension parallel and horizontal, means spaced along said dimension of each vessel to resiliently and dependently support each vessel for gyratory movement out of contact with said frame, a pair of coaxially ar-.

ranged bearing elements between and rigid with said vessels, said bearing elements being spaced apart on their common axis and such axis being parallel to said dimension of said vessels. a rotatable shaft journaled in said bearing elements, the center of gravity of said shaft being oiiset from its axis of rotation so that rotation of said shaft will gyrate said vessels about said dimension and relative to, but in a-path free of, said frame.

2. An ore washing machine of the character described in claim 1 wherein said bearing elements are positioned within a horizontal tube rigid with said vessels.

ALFRED RATCLIFT'E. GEOFFREY W. TALBOT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,388,097 Capsoni Aug. 16, 1921 1,646,690 Doty Oct. 25, 1927 1,908,104 Bell May 9, 1933 2,216,498 Muir Oct. 1, 1940 

